You hear about it often but never consider it, stainless steel brake lines. Stainless steel brake lines do more than make your ride look good. They provide a firmer brake feel which leads to a more responsive braking system. How do the stainless steel brake links do this? What other benefits do they lead to? Before we discuss their benefits we must first understand what compliance in the braking system is. Only then will the benefits of stainless steel brake lines be understood.
WHAT IS COMPLIANCE?
This word is used often when discussing brake tuning methods and techniques. There are many definitions used to describe compliance but the one we like best is:
“the property of a material of undergoing elastic deformation or (of a gas) change in volume when subjected to an applied force. It is equal to the reciprocal of stiffness”
When the brake fluid is sent through the brake lines by the force generated from the master cylinder, a certain amount of pressure is generated. This pressure can cause the brake lines to expand to a certain degree. Because of this, more fluid may be required to generate the same amount of pressure pre-compliance.
THE BENEFITS OF STAINLESS STEEL BRAKE LINES
LESS COMPLIANCE
Now that we understand what compliance is, we can discuss the biggest benefit of using stainless steel brake lines. Most stainless steel brake lines use a Teflon interior which already generates less compliance than the OEM-styled brake lines. The outer casing of these lines is braided with stainless steel which can withstand more of the pressure being generated by the master cylinder. Because of this, there is less compliance taking place in the braking system.
MORE RESPONSIVE BRAKING SYSTEM
What we mean by this is that the brake pedal will not have that ‘mushy’ feel to it anymore; it will feel firmer than before. Since there is less compliance taking place in the braking system, less brake fluid volume is necessary to provide the same amount of pressure. Because of this, you will not have to travel three-quarters of the pedals length just to stop at the appropriate distance anymore.
There are many benefits to upgrading to stainless steel brake lines and the two mentioned above are the biggest ones. Because of the desire to reduce the braking systems compliance to a minimum, there are many considerations as to how to reduce such an event from taking place. One of those ways was the use of stainless steel brake lines!
Source:Why You Would Want Stainless Steel Brake Lines | AutoNest | Birth Place of your Auto Race
Originally Posted by W-Body Store
